2 comments:

ayoungerdu
said...

I think the biggest thing that bothers me is that the Student Senate claims to represent the entire student body but has not given them the chance to vote on Boone's status or likability on campus. Even if they do come up with "viable" options, I think the students deserve to have their voices heard on the matter. Next election these options, as well as Boone, should be put up for a vote to determine who the student's think is a better mascot for the university

As I read it, functionally, all this bill says is that USG won't fund something in the future that they never funded to begin with (barring a few t-shirts for student orgs that included the Boone image). Everything else is just fluff.

So... I'm STILL confused as to why this is riling up the pro-Boone camp so much. Rise above the commotion that USG, NSA, and other anti-Boone parties are creating. Let them have their moment if it makes them feel better. For now, it's a mole hill, not a mountain. The two groups are operating in largely different planes. Everyone should take a deep breath.

The last time Boone got shot down and everyone thought the sky was falling, some alumni and students got together and made the current version of Boone come to fruition. It was the culmination of all the efforts that led up to Coombe's official denunciation in the first place.

Besides some lost revenue opportunities for the school, I don't think anyone would say that Boone has been anything but successful so far despite being unofficial. At this point, nothing points to a decline in that success. If anything, the "controversy" has bolstered support for Boone, as it did last time. And the unofficial status might lend Boone a degree of flexibility and certain benefits, because he only answers to those who support him. His caretakers and organizers have done a great job creatively engaging the community.

At the end of the day, whether it's an astronaut, ox, pig, or whatever, they'll still have to find someone to get in it. Ruckus was rendered basically irrelevant as soon as Boone showed up. And all but disappeared not long after that. Just because they create another mascot doesn't mean it will get any attention or have the same influence that Boone does.

Like I said before, they can find an official mascot, that probably won't be popular or engaging. But their hands will be clean, in terms of political correctness. Unofficially, Boone will still be a champion of DU spirit and the primary symbol that most DU fans will associate with. Ultimately, everyone gets mostly what they want.

Until DU bans Boone from campus altogether (in a legitimate and enforceable way, not a resolution stating "we don't like him"), the sky is still not falling.